The circle was previously valued at $4.5 billion in July 2021, before being raised to $9 billion in February 2022.
Circle, the creator of the USD Coin USDC
Down $1.00 on the tickers
On December 5,, announced the mutual termination of its proposed merger with Concord Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The agreement was announced in July 2021 with a preliminary valuation of $4.5 billion, but it was amended in February 2022 when Circle’s valuation increased to $9 billion. With a market capitalization of $43 billion, USDC is currently the second-largest stablecoin in circulation.
Concord had until December 10 to complete the transaction or seek a shareholder vote for an extension under the terms of the agreements. Concord, on the other hand, appears to have chosen to let the time limit lapse instead. According to Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire:
“Concord has been a strong partner and has added value throughout this process, and we will continue to benefit from the advice and support of Bob Diamond and the broader Concord team. We are disappointed the proposed transaction timed out; however, becoming a public company remains part of Circle’s core strategy to enhance trust and transparency, which has never been more important.”
Circle added, “We became profitable in the third quarter of 2022, with total revenue and reserve interest income of $274 million and net income of $43 million.” Currently, the company has $400 million in unrestricted cash.
While the stakeholders did not directly state the reason for the deal’s demise, the ongoing crypto winter has resulted in a downward spiral for many companies’ valuations. Furthermore, SPAC mergers have underperformed, with the IPOX SPAC index benchmark falling more than 40% since reaching all-time highs in February 2021. Similarly, after a downward revision to its valuation, Israeli cryptocurrency exchange eToro terminated its $10 billion SPAC merger in July.
